


a prince in the snow (I'm sorry I couldn't stand up for you)

by regionalsky



Series: "the golden age" because we all want to look at our yearbooks in 20 years and smile [3]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Exploring Characters, Fic, Gen, I WANT ALL OF IT, I just read catcher in the rye, I need as much of it as I can get, I think these characters are going to be well developed, M/M, No trigger warnings, actually this might be my favorite set of characters, getting hyped for nanowrimo and warming up, give me feedback, good fic, high school au ish, it will take you two seconds to read, just try it, literally try it, nanowrimoprep, now I am slow and lame and shitty, speak is one of my favorite books, together they are good, trying a style
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 06:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12475344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regionalsky/pseuds/regionalsky
Summary: there is a(one) fucked up tyler.there are some(two) confused joshes.tyler is best friends with one, and hates the other. the two joshes can't be any more different, until they aren't.(In which you always know who Tyler is but you are never sure which Josh is the "real" Josh)





	a prince in the snow (I'm sorry I couldn't stand up for you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rooster crow laugh](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=rooster+crow+laugh).



> this started because I wrote something about who I missed and I hated most of it but some parts survived in the form of tyler. he's a character that I do a bad job explaining but I understand him. he is a character in my life, not so much anymore, but years ago.  
> tyler really is fuckin hard to deal with, trust me.

He wanted to buy a red hunting hat.

It was kind of stupid, but Halloween was coming up anyways. Some kids did that- they'd buy a costume and wear a part of it for the rest of the year. He'd always privately taunted them, whispering in my ear.

He'd say those poisonous, vile things, then lean back and smile- grin, that stupid lopsided grin and wide, innocent eyes, and I couldn't really blame him, he probably hated himself just as much as he hated other people. 

There was this kid named Jaydon, or maybe Sebastian- he changed his name as often as he changed his hair color- and he had been a prince for Halloween, and it came with a huge crown and those plastic gold necklaces and rings. There was a fluffy cape too, like the white and black speckled with the red, and these bright ass yellow leggings.

Jesus, that kid had worn it for days, crown and all. He loved it. I think his name at that point was Denis- you could hear the jackasses yelling it up and down the halls. And even though they'd call him a cunt and a fag, it'd go in one year and out the other. I have no idea how he ignored it all. 

I respected the kid; gave him his space, even when he worse those stupid plastic gold rings for the rest of the year. He had friends and his friends liked him. I found myself watching him, actually, only because Tyler would not fucking leave him alone. 

Like, he never went up to him, at least in the beginning. But it was stares, talking shit to me, it was calling him out in class. Everyone thought he was joking, but I'd known Tyler for years.

If you asked just about anyone, he was nice. Sweet, even. He wore the stupid lopsided grin for everyone, and most of the teachers were just about convinced he was an angel. He flirted with waitresses and gave large tips.

Spoiler: Tyler's a jackass. 

We all get angry and he's obviously fake as shit, but not like anyone called him out on that. He was perfect to manipulate people- I honestly don't think the kid touched homework all of first semester. Most of the school was around his little finger, and they were happy enough to believe he was perfect. I mean, he didn't drink for the entirety of first semester, he always declined the parties. It was all for the show, it was all for the "reveal" of next semester. He'd go to all the important parties, he said, if he played hard to get now.

People thought he was nice, but he wasn't  _ cool.  _

I was nice, actually, but not many people talked to me when they could talk to Tyler. I just kept my mouth shut and my eyes down.

By December, Tyler got antsy. He was popular but not  _ cool.  _ Not in  _ that way.  _ He figured he was being too nice, so he let out some of the inner asshole, the shit I'd seen for years.

Man, he could really be a jackass.

"Holy shittttt," He groaned one morning, brushing snow off his head. "It's cold as fuck."

"Yeahhh," Someone agreed. We were on the front steps of our high school, and I bounced back and forth to keep feeling in my toes. They weren't letting us inside until five minutes before school started- which they hadn't told us until that morning.

Someone brought up the party that weekend, and I figured the conversation would just go through it's usual motions- they hype it up, talk about alcohol, while Tyler listens, an excited smile on his face, they invite him, but he politely turns it down, they try to insist and he explains he doesn't drink all with a smug little grin on his face. He was so sure of himself it was disgusting.

"Hey, Josh!"

I snapped back. They were all looking at me. "Yeah?"

"You down for this weekend?"

It would have been fun, honestly. It would've been fun. But the only eyes I met were Tyler's when I declined, who stared me down as I did it. 

I shoulda gone. I shoulda just dropped Tyler then and there, but he was really my only friend. The other guys tolerated me because I was a given with Tyler.

"Oh, shit," Tyler shouted, breaking the conversation, "here comes the fuckin prince,"

There he was- Harry at that point- with his cape. He was alone, vulnerable, with a paper coffee cup in his right hand. Steam rose from the cup and intertwined with his breath. 

"Hey, you got any hot harems that I can borrow?" The boys surrounding me cackled, and I forced a smile to my face.

Harry ignored him, continuing to walk down the path towards us.

"Yo can I borrow your cape? I'm kinda cold," There was a mean glint in Tyler's eyes, and he stepped towards Harry. Harry slowed, then stopped, shivering.

"Man, is that a yes?" Tyler held out his hand. "I'm waiting."

"It's- it's really not that warm." Harry muttered, pulling it tighter around his shoulders. 

"Then why the fuck you wearin it?"

"I-"

"Look," Tyler turned to face our little crowd, "Either this kid's lying, or he's a fag."

Harry stayed silent, then stared at the ground. His hair was orange, not neon, just a pastel that was almost yellow. 

"I'd say he's lying  _ and  _ he's a fag," Tyler joked, and of course they laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. I couldn't manage a smile. I wanted Tyler to stop, but I wouldn't tell him to- that would turn all this shit on me. I watched and bit my lip. 

I hadn't really ever seen Harry embarrassed before, but his cheeks were red. He sipped his coffee, kicking at little lumps of snow with his grey shoes.

Tyler strutted up to him and held out his hand. "Cape."

Harry shook his head. "No." He whispered, barely.

"No?" Tyler growled, shoving his face in Harry's. "Really?" He addressed our group. "This little cunt thinks he can keep shit from me," he pushed Harry's shoulder. "Yeah?"

Harry turned to walk away, but Tyler shoved him from behind, and he fell hard on the freshly shoveled sidewalk. The group  _ ooh _ ed. His coffee splattered across the snow, and he picked up the styrofoam cup as he stood up.

I had no idea how he did it, I imagined what I would do as I watched him brush the ice from his bright red hands, checking for scrapes. He was just taking it, all of it. I wondered what he had to lose. If I were him, I would give Tyler the fucking cape and run.

That was probably it. It was the thing that made him him, and he finally had an excuse to wear it, but Tyler had to take it away. Tyler had to take the safety, he had to make sure everyone else was insecure. If I had something like a cape, I'd hold onto it.

Tyler sighed, standing with his face in Harry's again. "You gonna fuckin give it to me? I'm kinda pissed now," 

I could see Harry going through it in his head. Run, lose the cape. Stay, lose the cape. Run, get hunted down and get shoved and probably kicked. Stay, walk freely. 

The boys were laughing less, getting bored. Tyler knew he had to do something. His hand darted out, snatching for the cape. Harry's hand was just as fast, smacking it away.

He looked up, wide eyed, as he realized what he just triggered. Tyler looked down, smiling and shaking his head.

"Boy, you're gonna fuckin get it now," he snarled, socking Harry in the gut. Harry tried to slap it away again, but missed, and you could hear the breath wheeze out of him. His eyes darted around, looking for help, a teacher, another kid, anything, but no one was there.

His eyes landed on mine, and for a second, just a second, I saw myself. I could've just as easily been him, getting kicked in the ribs by Tyler. He curled up, breaking eye contact, still not making a sound. He was going to wait the pain out, which was last for as long as Tyler wanted it.

"Hey, Ty, hold up!" I barked. "Teacher's coming out!" 

His head snapped towards the double doors, where kids were starting to gather. Before

he could start kicking again, Harry had gotten up and started running towards the crowds, fistfuls of cape gathered in his hands.

None of them were actually out yet, but I shrugged and smiled. "Sorry, I thought they were out, you know, cause everyone was by the doors." 

Tyler thanked me, but I could see the accusing tone in his glare. He wouldn't call me out for it in front of the other boys, but I'd hear about it from him later. He was about to win, and anything that wasn't a win was a loss. In the eyes of the other boys, it was a win, Tyler was funny, but he didn't see it that way.

I hoped Harry had someone to walk home with him.

  


Tyler kept talking about that stupid hunting hat all first period. 

"Y'know, maybe I'd get a blue one, so it would be, like, more unique," he tapped his pencil to his chin. "Not like your hair, though."

I ran my fingers through my hair, a purple-blue that had taken me an entire night to mix right. I wanted the color frozen blueberries stained your lips. 

"I want that royal blue color, y'know? That has a good sound to it. Royal blue." He propped his feet up on the side of my chair, and I clicked my pen against my teeth. "Uh huh."

"D'ya think they even sell those?" he laced his fingers behind his head. "Could I get a white one and dye it?"

"I dunno," I muttered, punching numbers into my calculator. I wrote a string of numbers on my sheet of paper, down to four decimal places. The pen ink smeared on my hand, but I'd given up in first grade trying to avoid that. English writing was not built for lefties.

"Should I really go as Holden for Halloween? Or is that dumb?" He asked, leaning back. "I think it's dumb."

"Nah, it's cool," I moved on to the next problem, threading my fingers through my hair as I stared at the small black type. The scab on my elbow throbbed where it pressed into the table, but I always did math like that. 

"You dressing up?"

I shrugged. "Don't really have an idea, and I'm not going out anyways."

"I'm not either," he said, tapping his fingers on the desk. "But it's what everyone else does. School spirit is, like, cool here."

"Hmm?"

"Yeah, man. It's fun, too."

Fun, yeah. Painting my face red and white, screaming chants in huge groups, surrounded by chaos and sweat and alcohol. No thanks.

I wrote down another answer, ugly decimals, and slumped in my chair. "Done."

"Thank you," Tyler whipped the paper out from under my hands. "Lemme borrow this for a sec," he said and started copying everything down, character for character.

I didn't protest. Tyler's main argument was that he was too smart for school, or whatever, and that everything was "busywork". Nothing got through that wall, and somehow, he still had As.

Maybe he didn't. I doubted he did. He never showed me his grades, but I wasn't going to argue. People all have to hide behind their lies.

Tyler had to run at the end of the period- the teacher let us out a couple seconds before the bell and he promised Caroline or Lola or whoever that he would be at her class. 

I had an off period, and I wandered around the halls, bored, until I saw the bright red cape. He hadn't seen me, so I didn't really need to go up to him, but I knew that for some reason I had to. 

"Hey, Harry, hold up!" I shouted, reaching for his shoulder. He stopped and spun around, fear filling his face, relaxing slightly when he saw it was me.

"Ah, hey, Josh."

"You good?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pocket. "I- I'm really fuckin sorry about Tyler. He's kind of an ass."

"'s fine." He muttered, looking down.

"No, I shoulda done more. Seriously, my bad, Harry, my bad."

"You don't owe me anything. It's really fine. It is. And, uh-" His eyes darted up, meeting mine."It's, uh, Josh now."

"What?"

"My name." He looked down. "I changed it again."

"Hey, that's cool," I laughed. "It's a good name."

He flashed a smile. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Look, Josh, Tyler's out for you, you know that?"

He nodded. "I thought he was supposed to be, like, nice."

"Yeah, but he picked you for some reason, to, like," I rubbed the back of my neck,"he just decided to fuck with you for some reason."

Rolling his eyes, he nodded. "I noticed."

"Hang low, kay? Don't go home alone, or, like, go home early or something. I'll try to see what his shit is with you, okay?"

"You don't have to do that," He shook his head, slowly and then faster. "Don't do that."

"Hey, I've known him forever."

"Don't worry. You don't have to. I'll fly under the radar, okay? Bye," he turned and quickly walked away, grabbing a beanie out of his pocket and pulling it over his lime green hair. 

"Bye," I said, holding my hand up.

**Author's Note:**

> (I was tyler for a long time.)


End file.
